Leadership And Intercultural Dynamics

The work will explore issues related to educational leadership in various settings in the 21st century. It will argue that the context for leadership within many nation states and international scenarios involves interaction between multiple and diverse social cultures. A further proposition is that the dominant leadership theory and discourse in the past reflects forms of western hegemony and mono-cultural assumptions drawn largely from the Anglo-American worldview. It will argue that such frameworks have limited validity in multicultural societies such as Australia, Britain, Canada, Europe and the USA and with indigenous communities within such nations. These societies contain significant populations which do not share the core values which inform established leadership practice and institutional paradigms in such nations. The consequence can often be insensitivity towards non-mainstream cultures, inappropriate structures, failed interventions and alienation of individuals from major institutions and traditions. Another proposition is that as more developing nations increase in affluence and view education as a key economic strategy, they become increasingly exposed to western discourses about leadership and management. Whilst acknowledging that western traditions have much to offer, there is a danger that this can involve forms of cultural imperialism whereby local traditions are ignored or subjugated. There is a need for developing nations to recognise and value the traditions and practices from their own cultures and assess the extent to which they are compatible with borrowings from other nations. Such processes require a sophisticated degree of reflective analysis to determine potential compatibilities and conflicts. This is an alternative to unmediated cultural borrowing, cloning, and hybridization. Western leadership scholars who work in such contexts have some responsibility to address this interaction instead of blithely offering practices and recipes from their metropolitan world views. The final proposition is that there is a need to develop models and practices for intercultural dynamics which are responsive to intercultural complexity. When these are thoroughly developed there will be clear implications for education. The unique features of this book include; • It introduces a new theoretical perspective on leadership and intercultural issues which builds upon the previous work of cross-cultural theorists from previous decades in educational leadership discourse • It will explore the three primary contexts for leadership and intercultural interaction; with indigenous communities in nation states, with multicultural communities in nation states and with international education and development programs • The book will draw upon a variety of authors from across the globe; from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Mexico Sweden and the United States • The book will provide opportunities for the development of comparative and wide ranging perspectives within specific fields. For instance students will be able to compare issues related to indigenous education in New Zealand, Canada and Fiji. Multicultural perspectives can be informed by experiences from Britain, Canada and the US. One of the strong chapters in the book is on A First Nation leadership program in the US. International programs can be compared from contexts as diverse as Bellarus, China and Pacific Islands. • As such the book will supplement and challenge the mono-cultural texts which tend to dominate leadership preparation programs in both developed and developing nations. The intended audience for this book includes academics and students in the fields of education, health, public administration and community development in both the developed and developing world. It will also appeal to practitioners in national state and local sites who operate in intercultural contexts.

Featuring contributions from some of the world's most renowned cross-cultural management theorists and commentators, this breakthrough text explores the cross-cultural dynamics within organizations. The book examines the evolving role of cultural diversity in the workplace, the application of cultural comprehension to organizations, and the measurement of various aspects of intercultural competence.

This theory-based text is a comprehensive guide to cultural diversity in the workplace. The book will be of use to undergraduate students in business and management.

This textbook addresses key issues and challenges in contemporary multicultural and multilingual workplaces through the lens of leadership, communication and trust. It draws together contributions from fields including cultural studies, psychology, sociolinguistics, translation and interpreting studies, and business management, making a valuable contribution to the area of language and culture in the workplace. The volume is divided into 5 thematic sections: Intercultural Communication; Cross-cultural Leadership; Economy; Language; and Diversity. It offers a critical analysis on themes that tend to be overlooked in intercultural business and management scholarship, such as multilingualism in the workplace, translation and interpreting in cross-cultural work practices, dignity in the workplace, performing gender in the workplace, and D/deaf people in the workplace. It also revisits themes such as cross-cultural leadership, interculturality and the embedded economy, and managing uncertainty in the context of the contemporary globalized workplace. It then brings everything together in a Cross-Cultural Scenarios chapter at the end, with recommendations for every scenario. Overall, the textbook constitutes an essential resource for honours undergraduate and postgraduate students in these and related fields, as well as academics and practitioners with an interest in globalised workplaces.

Combining organizational context, knowledge dynamics and cultural intelligence, the chapters here provide guidance on not only how to lead effectively in a multicultural context, but to leverage these global workforces to increase bottom-line results and improve employee satisfaction.

Leadership development is critical to organizational competitive advantage. The key to successful leadership development programs lies in understanding the complex and always-shifting interplay of national culture, organizational culture, program dynamics, and individual differences. Editors Derr, Roussillon, and Bournois explain the interrelationships among these influences, demonstrating how national culture may play a greater role in leadership development programs in some countries than in other countries. Contributors present varying viewpoints from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Italy, China, Vietnam, Israel, Africa, and Latin America. Perspectives on leadership management in changing organizations, on fast-track executives, and on the perspective of a clinical psychologist are included. In addition, the editors have included a discussion of the diversity-collaboration model, a highly useful tool for modulating the pendulum swings between the two extremes. In this context, diversity in the extreme is exemplified by a fluid, mobile, global labor force in which the risks include lack of unifying goals, lack of loyalty to the firm, and lack of effective action. The converse—collaboration in the extreme—is characterized by so much internal socialization, integration, and homogeneity that creativity is squelched and innovation is stifled. Preparing future leaders effectively entails straddling the middle by integrating highly acculturated, loyal, dedicated insiders with free agents culled from the global talent pool. The various chapters on leadership development as practiced in both developed and developing countries provide valuable insight into the utility of the diversity-collaboration model. Human resource managers, leadership development consultants, and organizational behavior consultants as well as their academic colleagues will find this work tremendously useful.

This book addresses one of the most critical issues facing global business leaders and the multicultural workforce – how to work and relate effectively in the intercultural contexts. The author presents business professionals, practitioners and academics with the Collaborative Intercultural Competence Model. Based on solid theoretical assumptions and real intercultural experiences, this model is to help professionals work more effectively across and within cultures. This book expands the traditional presentation of existing knowledge by providing a unified discussion of intercultural communication and its conceptual foundations. The book offers readers with a contemporary insight into the intercultural competence phenomenon and highlights the basis for its experience-based inquiry, assessment and development. A distinctive feature of Intercultural Competence in Organizations is its comprehensive coverage of the intercultural competence framework from both communication and organizational behavior perspectives. This book does not cover traditional areas of international business, international management, global management strategy and policy and cross-cultural comparative management, but focuses on theoretical foundations of intercultural competence and intercultural competence research and practice. The author describes the complex nature of intercultural competence in a straightforward format which helps professionals, practitioners and students to envision a variety of intercultural situations in which they may behave competently. Thus, the conceptual acumen of this title is to understand the premises of intercultural competence, embrace its theoretical assumptions, see its practical applicability, and advance individual intercultural competence. Featuring examples and skill development exercises, this book will be appealing to professionals, practitioners, students, academics and policy makers in the field of international business, management and communication. “Dr. Matveev challenges his readers to develop their intercultural competence so as to make themselves more effective, more humane and more socially skilled in a world that increasingly involves extensive contact across various groups of people.” --from the Foreword by Richard W. Brislin, University of Hawaii “Dr. Matveev creates an awareness of intercultural competence by exposing the reader to the theoretical concepts and practical tools. Business people and academics will use this book to recognize and leverage the benefits of cultural diversity.” --Berthold Mukuahima, Director of Human Capital, Ohlthaver & List Group, Namibia “Dr. Matveev reveals how intercultural competence of professional multicultural teams helps in achieving corporate competitive advantage and longevity in a challenging globalized world. This book is very useful for managers, scholars and students who want to elevate the efficacy of intercultural relationship in their professional and personal lives.” --Srečko Čebron, Management Board Member, Sava Reinsurance Company, Slovenia /div